The Garden
by DjDangerLove
Summary: After Danny is held at gun point it brings out Jamie's worst fear, losing another brother.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Blue Bloods but I do own a heart that loves it.**

**This is my first Blue Bloods story. I usually write for White Collar and Suits, but I really love Blue Bloods and finally decided to give it shot. I tried to keep them all in character, but I wanted a brotherly moment between Danny and Jamie, because it is my favorite element of the show! **

**The Garden**

The Reagan family sat around the table on Sunday afternoon. Henry sat at one end telling old war stories that had Jack and Sean mesmerized, while Nikki talked to her mom about the new cute guy at school. Frank sat on the other end of the table and after listening to his father tell the first part of an embarrassing incident from his own childhood, he began to drown him out and focus his attention on the rest of his family. He eyed Linda, who sat quietly beside him, and noticed she was sitting a little bit closer to her husband than usual, but no one could blame her for that, not after the morning they just went through. Danny stabbed his fork down into a piece of roast and hungrily put it into his mouth, but quickly covered his mouth with a napkin when Henry got to the funny part of his story and the whole family burst into laughter. All expect Jamie, that is.

Frank watched him push his untouched food around his plate and only offer a smile that looked more like a grimace while laughter filled the dinning room. He kept his eyes down on the table and his shoulders tense, but Frank was not about to call his son on it in front of the whole Reagan clan. Well he wasn't, but Danny was.

"What's the matter Harvard?" Danny asked, around the food in his mouth. Every Reagan at the table stopped what they were doing and turned their attention on Jamie. The youngest of Frank's children swallowed uncomfortably and straightened in his chair. He glanced up at Danny but only for a split second before staring at the table again. He shook his head once and gave an his characteristic, shy laugh.

"N-nothing."

"Ahh, come on kid. You love Grandpa's pot roast, but you haven't taken a single bite."

"Eh, I'm just uh..not hungry." Jamie replied, with what he hoped was a convincing grin, but one look at Danny told him his lie was easily detected.

Frank stole a glance at Danny and could practically see the smart remark that his oldest son was about to throw across the table at an uncomfortable Jamie.

"That's okay, Jamie. You can always heat it up later." Frank said, in an attempt to keep the dinner table at a peaceful environment. Jamie nodded at his father in thanks, but Danny kept on pressing his brother.

"Eh, Pops he probably won't be hungry then either."

"Danny." Linda whispered beside him, trying to get him to stop. Erin kept glancing back and forth between her brothers, while Henry tried to keep Jack and Sean's attentions.

Danny kept grilling.

"What's the matter, kid? Renzulli make you stand next to a DB?" Danny asked, using the abbreviation of a dead body so Jack and Sean wouldn't interrupt.

"Quit busting my chops, Danny." Jamie stated and gritted his teeth.

"Danny. Enough." Erin spoke up for her younger brother's defense.

Danny rolled his eyes at her. "Come on, kid. You act like you were the one gunned down this morning."

Jamie let his fork clatter on his plate as he dropped it and threw his napkin from his lap onto the table while he stood. He offered a glare at his older brother before he stormed out of the house.

The rest of the Reagans sat in silence, wondering who would be the first to break the silence that followed Jamie's absence.

Frank let out a sigh as he wiped his mouth with his napkin. He scooted his chair away from the table, but Danny stopped him.

"No, Dad. I'll go."

"Don't you think you've said enough Danny." Erin asked.

Danny bit his bottom lip as he took a deep breath before turning back to his father.

"Let me talk to him." Danny insisted, standing up. Upon seeing his father's still uncertain stare, he added, "If we start throwing punches you can take over alright?"

He smiled weakly, before going in search of his brother outside.

* * *

><p>He found Jamie in the backyard sitting on a small brick ledge that surrounded their deceased mother's garden.<p>

"Ma loved this garden. She used to get so mad when me and Joe would run through it. We never did it on purpose, but when she asked us about it I told her you did it, so we wouldn't get in trouble. You were four at the time and I knew she wouldn't ground you." Danny laughed as he sat down next to his brother. Jamie ignored him.

"Joe didn't like blaming you so he confessed and I ended up getting into more trouble for framing my little brother than running through her garden."

Jamie moved some dirt with the end of his shoe, but continued to ignore Danny.

"But like a week later, you and that Roy kid who lived down the street," Danny continued to speak while he sat shoulder to shoulder with his brother, who he knew was listening despite acting like he wasn't, " were playing here in the back yard and he pushed you down, and you broke your arm. Joe ran back to the house to get mom, leaving Roy, you and me alone. You started crying, your arm was bent awkward and I knew it was broken." Danny paused while he watched the memory playback in his mind. "I was so mad at Roy."

The older Reagan brother nudged his little brother's shoulder with his own and asked, "You remember what I did?"

Jamie clenched his jaw and kicked the dirt some more. He didn't reply.

"Come on! I know you do, you didn't stop talking about it for a week. Ma even said she would ground you if you didn't stop talking about it."

Jamie bit his lip to keep a smile from creeping onto his face.

"Ahh, see!" Danny said, noticing his brother's weak attempt to keep a straight face. "What did I do?" He asked again.

Jamie gave a short laugh and shook his head, but he still didn't look at his brother.

"You punched him in the face and broke his nose."

Danny laughed. "Yeah, I did! You treated me like a hero after that!"

Jamie shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Mom didn't know if she should ground you or be proud of you."

Danny nodded. "She was mad at first, but when she realized Roy pushed you and I just punched him because I was sticking up for my kid brother, she really couldn't ground me for that."

Silence fell over the two brothers. The tension was still there, but there wasn't as much.

"You wanna tell me what's going on in that head of yours?" Danny finally asked, though he was certain he knew the answer.

Jamie shrugged his shoulders. "It's nothing."

"It's about this morning isn't it?" He saw Jamie tense, and he let out a long sigh. "I knew what I was doing, Jamie. It was a routine procedure."

"Bullshit." Jamie said and stood from the brick ledge. "There's nothing routine about being gunned down Danny. You've told me that since the day I got out of Academy and now you of all people are sitting there trying to convince me otherwise."

"Jamie-"

"Is it because you aren't a rookie? Because you've got years of experience?" Jamie asked, his voice rising uncharacteristically with anger. "Joe wasn't a rookie. Joe had experience. But where is he? Huh, Danny? Where is Joe? Is he here? Does he still come to Sunday dinners?" Jamie was practically yelling as he shoved his brother who now stood in front of him. "Where the hell is my brother?"

Danny was in shock at his brother's outburst. He stood there, staring at him pace back and forth running a hand through his blonde hair. After a few seconds, he finally recovered.

"I'm sorry, Jamie." His voice was quiet, but it made Jamie stop and look at him.

"You say that you bust my chops so I don't make a rookie mistake, so I come home at the end of the day, so you don't lose another brother, but what about me Danny? You think you're the only one who lost a brother? The only one who lost Joe? Do you think we could lose you, too?" The anger was still quilting Jamie's voice, just not as loud.

Danny closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "It's different, Jamie."

"How?" Jamie asked incredulously.

"You're my kid brother."

"Yeah, and you're my older brother. What difference does that make?"

"I'm supposed to look out for you, not the other way around."

Jamie rolled his eyes at the answer he was so familiar with. Knowing he wouldn't get through to Danny with that he tried a different tactic.

"Yeah, well you can't do that if you're dead."

Danny bit his lip. "A little below the belt don't you think Jamie?"

The youngest sibling glared at the other.

"I'm not carrying another brother." Jamie replied while shaking his head and taking a step back away from Danny. "I won't. I can't."

"You don't have to Jamie. I'm right here." Danny said, tapping his hand against his own chest.

Jamie stood still, staring once again at the ground.

"I'm here, Jamie. I'm alright." Danny assured his little brother as he approached him and wrapped his arms around him. "I'm okay."

He waited until Jamie hugged him back, before pulling away and wrapping his arm around his younger brother's shoulders, dragging him back to the house.

"Come on, kid. Ma's probably making a scene up there watching us stand in her garden."

They laughed as they made their way across the backyard to the house. Before they made it inside, Danny looked to the sky and said, "Don't worry Mom, I still look after the kid."

"And I'm still taking the most of the blame for what Danny does." Jamie added, with a laugh.

Danny shoved Jamie up the steps to the house, but before he followed his brother, he turned back to look at the garden one more time. It was his mother's garden, the garden he was never supposed to walk through, the garden he was never supposed to frame his brother for ruining. It was the same garden his little brother broke his arm in, the same garden he broke Roy's nose for hurting Jamie in, the same garden that he became Jamie's hero in for the first time. He shared memories with Linda and their two boys in that garden. He interrogated Nikki's first boyrfriend there and threatened Erin's then husband that if he hurt her he would have hell to pay. He shared his first cigar with his father and heard his grandfather's stories in that garden. It was garden that had taught him a lot about life, being a son, husband and father. It was a garden that taught him a lot about being a brother.

He has never told anyone that when there's a gun held against him, he isn't in an alley or a suspect's upper hand. He is in the garden with a wife and two children who need him, a father and grandfather who love him, a younger sister and a niece to protect and a little brother to be a hero for.

At the end of the day, he's only trying to get back to the garden.

"Danny? You coming?" Jamie's voice breaks his thoughts. He shakes his head to clear the memories and smiles at his brother.

"Yeah, little brother. I'm coming."

Today, Danny Reagan made it back to the garden.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I hope you enjoyed it and that is was in character! Please let me know what you think! Thanks for reading! <strong>


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